Chapter 96: It Was Peaceful
“Don’t touch my brother!”
Tina stood protectively in front of her brother, facing two men with grotesque expressions. It wasn’t their looks that were ugly; it was the malice in their faces.
“Shut up! Stay quiet!”
They were the epitome of villains. No, they were just plain evil.
With that, I charged in from behind and delivered a solid punch to the two villains, ending the confrontation. I hit them hard on the head, but I had no idea about their condition afterward.
“Are you okay?”
“Jean!”
“Big brother Jean!”
I caught the two half-sobbing siblings as they rushed to me, gently patting their heads.
I had been working hard lately, so I thought I’d visit Dinoss’s house with some gifts. But upon using [Teleportation], I stumbled into this mess.
Why were there people here without any horses? I pondered, putting my own situation aside. Could there be others around, and perhaps horses too?
Still, it was touching to see a sister protecting her brother. I understood in my head that there are many forms of family and various types of people, but my heart felt a bit complicated.
“So, what happened?”
“Suddenly a lot of people came, and Mom and Dad told us to run away…”
Tina struggled to explain without breaking into sobs.
It seemed the first incident took place at their house. While Dinoss was dealing with the situation, his wife managed to get the children hiding in the barn to safety. However, one of the twins, Baku, got caught in the process.
The twins were named En and Baku. When they stood side by side, I could tell them apart, but alone, it was difficult. From the conversation, it seemed I was with En.
“This is quite dangerous.”
Especially after that hostage remark.
“For now, let’s head back to Mom and Dad. But remember, don’t make any noise if something happens.”
I had about half confidence in my ability to handle the situation, but I wanted to assess what Dinoss and the others were facing.
If possible, I wanted to leave the kids in a safe place, but there were very few hiding spots around here, and it would be troublesome if other villains were lurking. If it came down to it, I’d use [Teleportation] to escape with them.
When we arrived at the house, I saw Dinoss lying on the ground, being stomped by one man, while another held his wife from behind, pressing a sword to her throat. Baku was captured by a different man, a bit further away.
There were two more men, making a total of five. The two holding Baku were too far away to take them out all at once. Although Baku was closer to me, it was still a tricky situation.
“Damn it…”
“Why don’t you just tell us where they are?”
“Hah, with things like this, even the King Wolf of Balmoa is powerless. If you resist, I’ll take it out on the kids!”
One of the men kicked Dinoss, who was lying on the ground.
“Dad!”
Ah! Ah!
Hearing Tina’s scream, I immediately punched the man holding Baku, taking him down. Even if I told the kids not to do anything, I couldn’t protect them if something shocking happened. This was my fault.
“Oh dear, oh dear.”
Just as I was about to run toward the other four, I heard an oddly cheerful voice from Dinoss’s wife.
I stopped in my tracks.
With the sword pressed against her, she lifted the man’s arm with her elbow and stomped down hard, then elbowed him in the gut. In one swift motion, she snatched the sword from him and struck down the man who had been kicking Dinoss, taking him out in an instant. The remaining two were dispatched just as quickly.
Huh?
“Dad, Mom!”
The three of them rushed toward their parents, joy lighting up their faces.
I stood there, unsure of what to do. Dinoss was still sprawled on the ground.
This was the second time I had witnessed someone die, but did she really do that? She did, didn’t she? The children seemed to be overwhelmed with joy at their parents’ safety, completely ignoring the dead bodies as they embraced each other.
Inside the house, we tended to Dinoss’s injuries while his wife packed their belongings, preparing to flee.
“That looks painful.”
“I was trying to avoid getting hit too badly, so it’s not as bad as it looks. It hurts, though.”
“I see.”
“Yeah.”
I remained silent, applying medicine and wrapping bandages around him, unable to keep up with everything happening.
“…”
“…You have something you want to say, don’t you?”
Dinoss asked with a wry smile.
“Uh… Can I say it?”
“Sure.”
“I had a healing potion.”
“Ugh! Ouch!”
I realized it after I had finished wrapping him up tightly in bandages.
“Sorry for dragging you into this.”
“I was pretty surprised.”
“You looked like you were about to die.”
Well, his wife was going around delivering the finishing blows, and I couldn’t keep up with everything happening.
But from what I saw, it was probably necessary. I felt no hatred toward his wife. I was simply shocked by the clear and straightforward death of a person. While I had left them behind, unsure if I might kill someone, her resolve was different.
—The reason the man holding Baku was so far away was probably to avoid being wiped out before he could do anything with the hostage. I had no confidence that I could defeat Dinoss’s wife.
“En has [Storage].”
“Huh?”
“…En has [Storage].”
“Yeah.”
Dinoss repeated the same words twice.
“…Um.”
“En’s [Storage] is amazing! He can fit a big desk into an empty space! He can fit ten bags of wheat!”
“Jean, having [Storage] is really rare. People from the castle might come and take you away for it!”
Tina and Baku, carrying their belongings, explained in place of the stuttering Dinoss.
Ah, [Storage] is indeed convenient. If used for commercial purposes, it could be peaceful, but it could also facilitate smuggling, allow for easy weapon transport, and reduce the burden of supplies in war.
Still, I understood that I also had [Storage], but Baku’s explanation felt childishly perplexing. Also, my [Storage] can hold things larger than a desk.